


Saviour

by Mad_Mage



Series: Sing Me to Sleep [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Romance, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-14 02:56:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15379176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mad_Mage/pseuds/Mad_Mage
Summary: Our heroes act out “Saviour” from George Ezra, Rey has an ugly necklace, Luke wears a suit as a part of his job, Kylo is not really present much and saving someone else is kind of hard if you can’t save even yourself.





	Saviour

**Author's Note:**

> I had some troubles getting back into the writing process but yesterday evening I heard this song and it all sort of clicked back into place. I feel a bit rusty still but hope you will enjoy this little songfic. I also recommend listening to the song while you read. Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4guImi6uLo

It’s a dark night.

Luke glances to his right briefly before he focuses back on the road. From time to time he checks the rear-view mirror, but his eyes keep straying to the sleeping figure in the passenger seat. She looks exhausted, so small huddled under his suit jacket, with dark smudges of mascara under her eyes.

_Rey._ Her name on his mind is like a prayer, and Luke wonders if he would turn back time if it were in his power. The weight of his gun at his side is a constant reminder that some things, however, cannot be undone.

The engine almost purrs when he steps on the gas pedal. The sleek sports car speeds up, and suddenly it’s not purring, it’s roaring like an unstoppable beast. The world outside of the dark-tinted windows is nothing but a black blur of distorted shapes.

He sighs and steals another glance at Rey. Loving her has been a mistake, and yet he can hardly imagine not doing so. It has become such a fundamental part of him. Like rocks and gravel build a road, Rey builds him. Of course, he drinks water, eats food and breathes air. Of course, he loves her.

His bloodstained fingers on the wheel tighten their hold momentarily, and Luke swallows, nostrils flaring. She asked him to take her back to the cabin. Not to the place, but to the time they spent there when moonlight illuminated the landscape – those dark trees, the mountains, the water; their little piece of paradise. He can vividly remember and describe the way the silver glow reflected on the lake’s surface and in her eyes.

-.-.-

“The house is secure.” Luke remained standing in the doorway, hands folded behind his back and eyes focused on the glass wall of the master bedroom. He watched the wilderness outside, dark spruces bathed in moonlight, the lake resembling molten silver. He did his best not to give in to the temptation of looking her way.

It was unprofessional, the way his pulse picked up speed every time Luke saw her, and how his heart skipped a beat when she smiled at him. He still remembered the piercing feeling inside when he had glimpsed her for the first time, just in passing in her husband’s office. Like a knife to his chest – and he had been bleeding ever since.

“Is everyone settled?”

“Yes, the rest of the staff is already in bed, and I’ll take the first watch. You have nothing to fear, Madame.” He was unable to sleep anyway. Luke was the head of her security, and it usually took him a day or two to feel at ease enough to fall asleep in new locations. With the latest threat against Mr. Ren, he doubted he would sleep at all until the emergency passed.

The woman he had been faithfully protecting the last twelve months turned towards him with a small smile, eyes dancing with mirth.

“How many times have I asked you to call me Rey?”

“Three hundred seventy-five times, if I remember correctly,” Luke answered stoically. Not that he had been counting. It was just a rough estimation.

“And yet you refuse me.”

“It would seem so, Madame.” It was for the sake of his sanity; crossing that invisible line, even in his mind, would mean losing the last thread that separated him from utter madness.

Her eyes were so impossibly dark as she gazed at him from across the room. She was dressed in a clingy designer dress, encumbered with gold and diamonds, in high heels with perfect make-up and a complicated hairstyle. Beautiful yet broken.

Luke swallowed, cursing himself that he had glanced at her. He had come to understand her without words. Rey didn’t need to say that she was unhappy, that she felt trapped and isolated and alone. He could read it her eyes, in every little expression that flitted across her face.

Clenching his hands into tight fists behind his back, Luke forced out, “Mr. Ren asked me to relay to you that he would join you in two or three days. He doesn’t wish you to wander the neighborhood without an escort, and has taken the liberty to book several procedures for you at the spa in town to occupy your time.”

“I wonder how much he is paying the staff there to snitch on me,” she said lightly and turned away from Luke. “Come here and help me with that kitschy necklace, please.”

He watched her sit at the ottoman in front of her vanity and stepped inside the room, almost against his will. Rey observed him in the mirror with a mix of longing and sorrow, and as Luke glanced at his own reflection, he was dismayed to find the same expression of bone-deep heartbreak on his face.

Luke stopped behind her, and with shaking hands haltingly reached to unclasp the necklace, never breaking eye-contact with her in the mirror. His fingertips grazed the nape of Rey’s neck, and both shivered. Before Luke could think about what he was doing, he gently rested both his palms on her bare shoulders. Now they exhaled shuddering breaths. Something in her gaze was calling to him, and he felt like his heart was going to burst at the silent plea. For what?

He didn’t have the slightest idea how _he_ of all people could give her what she needed. How he could save her from the loneliness and pain and the golden cage. In that, she was on her own. It must have been her choice. Why had she chosen a man like her husband to share her life with?

Luke wished he had met her before Ren. He wished he had made her _his_ wife.

His forefinger found its way along Rey’s collarbone to the hollow of her throat and up to her chin, and up again to her mouth. She tilted her head backward, pressing the back of her skull to his stomach and closing her eyes, her lips parting with a soft sigh.

Perhaps it was her who was the savior, then? Maybe she would break the vicious circle of longing and impossibilities they had found themselves in.

“Luke, please,” she breathed, and suddenly he was sinking to his knees, resting his forehead against her shoulder blades. He wound his arms around Rey from behind, clasping her hands in his in front of them. They were both trembling.

“Yes, Rey?” His voice was rough, raw, painful to listen to. Something was breaking somewhere, like a crystal vase smashed to thousands of pieces. He could almost hear it. The damn had broken, there could never be turning back from that, from that one word that had been just torn from the depths of his soul. _Rey_. Like a prayer on his lips, on his mind. _Rey. Rey. Rey._ Not Mrs. Ren, not Madame but _Rey_.

“Luke,” she breathed again, and he could hear tears in her voice, felt her body sagging with relief as she gripped his hands tightly, afraid to let go. “Please, Luke, please.”

“Yes?” He was choking, and couldn’t breathe. He just couldn’t breathe, his mind chanting, again and again, the sweet forbidden word. _Oh, Rey._ “Yes?”

“Hold me.”

“Of course.” Kicking the ottoman away, he pulled her closer to him, so she sat on his lap, cradling her smaller frame in his arms. He started rocking them back and forth as Rey turned in his embrace, nuzzling his bearded cheek, inhaling deeply. Luke had no idea how long they spent on the floor. Minutes, hours? He didn’t know.

But then Rey sneaked her arms around his neck and moved her face a little away from him so she could look at Luke better. She wore a sober expression, her eyes were bright, no longer tearful, and she licked her lips. For a moment, they just stared at each other, and he wondered if she felt what he felt; the serenity, calm after a terrible storm had come and gone. He was no longer being torn to pieces as he gazed at her. He could look at her without that awful, agonizing ache deep inside of him.

“Make love to me.”

The world tilted on its axis when he registered the meaning of Rey’s words. There was no hesitation, no second-guessing the last several moments. He only nodded and lifted her from the floor. They closed the door, turned off the lights and made love in the bed in front of the glass wall with a view of a clear sky and calm waters of a glacial lake. In the light of the midnight moon, they reached for the stars on the wings of their passion and touched them together – free in their own version of heaven where time was young, and Rey was his and Luke was hers.

-.-.-

But tonight is a dark night. He needs to stop for a minute, stretch his leg, drink cheap coffee from a plastic cup at a gas station. Refuel. He’s not sure he can come anywhere near people in his shirt stained with blood. There’s also no way he leaves the gun behind, even for a moment, and he doubts that will go well with the attendants on the station.

Luke blinks, suppressing a yawn, and knows that he really needs to stop soon.

Rey stirs, and he can’t help but glance at her. In the darkness of the car, Luke can’t see the bruises littering her skin. He’s grateful for that. He has seen a devil dance for her, with her, pulling her through the steps, almost getting her killed. God, _never_ again.

“What’s the time?” she mumbles and sits up, holding his jacket closer to her, snuggling into its warmth and smell of his cologne.

“Late.” He smiles, just for her. “Or early. Depends on how you like to think about it. Would you like some coffee? We can stop. God knows I need a break.”

She returns the smile and Luke is suddenly reminded, forcefully, that what he has to give her is not enough. How it can ever be? He doesn’t have much money – or that many good years left in him. After tonight, how can she even bear to look at him?

It’s a dark, dark night.

-.-.-

“Phasma?” he asked for the fourth time but received no answer. The power had gone out three minutes ago, and Luke had a bad feeling about that. They were at another luxurious vacation home of Mr. Ren, this one on the outskirts of a small Mediterranean settlement situated right on the beach. Their location was supposed to be unknown to anyone save for Mr. Ren, but he had noticed suspiciously large SUVs earlier in the town. The tourist season had already ended, and locals preferred smaller fuel-efficient cars.

Cursing, he took out a silencer and readied his gun. Then he sent a message to the emergency team, moving slowly towards the stairs.

Luke knew the house quite well so when he heard the creak, he started shooting. Every member of the staff kept off that particular floorboard. Mr. Ren hated it when his people made unnecessary noise.

There was a thud as a body hit the floor.

He was calm, his hands steady and his every movement efficient as he checked the assailant and continued up the stairs. Luke was a professional. His heart, however, wanted to beat out of his chest. That little traitor was anything but professional when it came to the mistress of the house. His objective was to find her and get her out of harm’s way, let the others deal with the mess. That wasn’t his problem. Rey was his only concern.

Two dead bodies later, he got to the master bedroom and stilled. His self-control slipped a little as he saw what was happening inside.

A tall redheaded man was holding a knife to Rey’s throat, his back to the door. She was bound to a chair near the writing desk, probably looking up at him. His posture was vaguely familiar to Luke. He could not shoot him from such close proximity. The bullet would tear out of him and injure Rey, too.

“For the last time, where is Ren?”

“Not here.”

They stared at each other for a moment unblinkingly, and the man must have believed her. He straightened and appeared deep in thought. “I have a message for him, from Mr. Snoke. I’ll need your help to deliver it.”

Snoke, that snake. Luke clenched his jaw and tried to remain calm as he inched closer, trying to get a clear shot. His blood boiled when he caught the sight of Rey’s bruised face and arms. Snoke had been Mr. Ren’s business partner, but a few years back they had parted ways. That meant that the redhead was Hux, Snoke’s faithful lapdog. Why had he done that? If Snoke had a bone to pick with Ren, why had Hux hurt Rey? No man with a shred of self-respect would behave like that.

“What is the message?” Rey asked carefully, warily watching the knife with wide eyes. It was a small thing easily fitted into one’s sleeve, with a sharp curved blade. Hux lifted it and stepped very close to her.

“That he should return what he stole from my employer. Or he is going to find pieces of you delivered to him in nicely wrapped packages over the next three weeks. I think I leave your little finger here as the first message. What a pity, you have beautifully shaped hands…”

He leaned even closer. At that moment, Rey butted him. Swearing, Hux stumbled back, and Luke jumped into action, grabbing him around the chest, arms pinned to his body. He turned and threw Hux away, immediately pointing the gun at him.

“Don’t move,” he growled. Not taking his eyes off Hux, he asked, “Are you hurt, Madame?”

“Just a few bruises.”

“Good. You, throw the knife into the corner of the room and kneel, hands up.”

“You are making a mistake, Skywalker.” Hux sneered but did as he had been told. Pity, Luke had hope that he would offer some resistance. “A big mistake. Never come between Mr. Snoke and his money. You will regret this soon. Do you hear me?”

“You listen to me, you little shit! Stab Ren as many times as you want, but if you ever come close enough to touch her again, I’ll take that knife of yours and cut you into little pieces myself! Understood?”

Hux appeared to be taken aback by that and just blinked at Luke, uncomprehending. He moved to the kneeling redhead to cuff him when Hux suddenly launched at him, and they grappled for the gun. A shot went off, but the struggle continued for several long seconds until Luke’s elbow connected with his chin and the force sent him sprawling on the floor. He was on Hux immediately, kneeling on his chest and punching him. The nose broke with a crack, blood splattered Luke’s shirt, his hands. Still, he did not stop until Hux fell unconscious. His face was an unrecognizable mess by that point.

Rey had managed to wiggle out of her restraints and carefully laid her hand on his shoulder. “Baby? It’s enough, he can’t hurt me anymore. It’s enough.”

“Yeah…  oh, yeah… Oh, God, I’m so sorry!” He shook his head to clear it, not really understanding what had just happened. Turning to Rey, he offered a sheepish expression. “Are you really alright? I can call the doctor.”

She stood there in yet another clingy dress, but her shoes were gone and her hair a mess. Shivering slightly, she reached her hand towards him, and Luke wrapped her in his arms without hesitation.

“I’m fine. Just take me away. Please, take me away from here.”

-.-.-

“It’s a dark night,” Rey observes softly from her seat. They stopped for a coffee and fuel. She gave him the jacket back, to mask the blood and his gun, and then they were on their way again.

“Yes.”

Putting her hand over his on the gearshift, Rey can feel the slight shivers wracking Luke’s body. He washed the blood from his hands in the restroom, splashed water over his face, stared at his reflection for a moment. Luke only vaguely recognized the man there, with such a fire in his eyes. He doesn’t have to be afraid of staining her with the blood, yet Luke still wants to pull his hand away. But he can’t do that. There is no force on this Earth strong enough to pull him away from her. All of him is all for her.

“Where are you taking me?” she asks  the dreaded question after a moment.

He hesitates for a moment, brings her palm to his lips and kisses it gently. “I don’t know. I should take you back to your husband. Ren must be worried.”

It has been hours. Luke’s emergency team has cleaned the house, gotten rid of the bodies and evidence and made out a bill to Ren. His employer certainly knows what has happened. Luke doesn’t want to bring Rey to him, though. That man is responsible for almost getting her killed. Never again.

“Take me anywhere but to him. I don’t want to see him again. Talk to him again. Take me someplace safe where it’s just you and me.”

Luke swallows and glances at her. Rey watches him, solemn, determined, so beautiful it hurts to look at her for too long. “I can’t just take you and run, Rey. He would search for us, for you.”

Luke knows the right people but lacks the resources to build them a life together, to offer her what she deserves. What he has to give is just not enough.

“We can hide. If it’s the funds, that’s alright, Luke. I have a separate account. I have…” Rey falls silent and turns from him to look out of her window. He misses the touch of her hand and refrains from reaching for it. “I have planned an exit strategy of sorts for some time. For years… even before meeting you. If not now then when?”

Rey has planned her escape for years? He was right, all those months ago. She is her own savior, offering them a way out, a way to get back to that cabin in the mountains, that midnight moon. Luke takes a deep breath and nods once. It seems he can’t do much more than to fall at her feet again.

They will need to change cars and clothes. Move quickly. Han, his brother-in-law, will be able to get them from Europe. Luke has friends on every continent, contacts from his years of military and secret service. They will make it work. He will keep them safe. He can do that.

The horizon on the east lightens slightly. The night is ending.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys, I’m hopefully finally back. I’m not sure I’ve ever mentioned that I practiced martial arts… but for long years, I did. This spring I had a sparring accident. I injured my back and spent some time in the hospital. The day I finally got rid of the crutches, I fell down the stairs. So, the trip to the hospital was repeated, and I am lucky to be able to hop around with those damned crutches again. I am on my way to recovery, and as long as I refrain from hard landings on the floor and won’t be hit by anyone anymore, I should be right as rain. Hope you enjoyed the story. I’m actually proud of myself for writing it without hitting writer’s block a kilometer high… I’m also trying to get back to Dusk and Ocean, but it might take me a few more tries to do so. Please, be patient. Love you all, Mage.


End file.
